


Two Dead Men Fall Into Bed Together

by Trash_Planet (orphan_account)



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Book 8: Last Stand of Dead Men, Drinking to Cope, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character Death(s), spoilers for the last stand of dead men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 00:00:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10231001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Trash_Planet
Summary: Sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn't it?





	

Dexter thought he'd find Saracen here. The time was well beyond midnight but the bar his friend had crawled into was still swarming with individuals. Well, it was Roarhaven. Most of the people here looked like they'd crawled into a bottle and never came back out. He bit into his lip and moved onward through the crowd of people, careful not to knock into the staggering men and women all around him. He found his ginger haired friend sat on one of the worn, brown leather stools next to the bar that looked like it hadn't had a wipe down in years. Being careful not to put his arm in a sinister-looking liquid he turned to face his best friend. Dexter's mouth felt dry. What was he supposed to say? They had both seen the tape.They both watched Anton's head rolling from his body and Blood pooling around Ghastly as he fell down. Dexter fought down bile. Instead of speaking he ordered a drink for himself and another one for Saracen. This would be a long night.

After a long while Saracen looked up from where he was staring into his glass and broke the silence between the two "They're gone" And Dexter knew he wasn't just talking about his fallen friends. He was also talking about Ravel. A man they had grown to trust and call his friend and later his brother. The man who had saved his life countless times. He wasn't just mourning Ghastly and Anton. They were mourning the person he thought he knew. 

Dexter downed the rest of his drink and for the longest time Saracen thought he would not respond to the earlier statement until his friend found his voice. It was hoarse and Saracen strained to hear it. Like Dex was talking more to himself than anyone else. "Yeah" He spoke. "Yeah, they are" and with one last shot he picked himself up and tugged at Saracen's arm. "Come on. Skulduggery will wonder where we are. Don't want him to lose his head thinking we've gone after Ravel ourselves" Vex gave a little chuckle to himself as they swayed their way back to Skulduggery's. The cool night air sobered up the two men and Dexter held back tears. His eyes red and vision blurry. He blinked them away quickly. They would mourn after Ravel was in shackles or dead. Vex hoped it would be the latter. 

The got in and quietly went to the kitchen where The dark haired man filled two glasses of water and sat on the old couch together. Neither of them saying a word. Silently a few tears began to slip down Saracen's face. He let them fall without interruption. Dexter longed to tell his friend that it would be okay. But what use would lies be? Things are not going to be okay for quite a while. Lying wouldn't undo Erskine betrayal. It wouldn't help anyone. So why bother?

"Come here" It was more of a question than a command but wordlessly Rue obeyed. Setting their glasses down on the nearest table. The smaller man sat in Vex's lap and let the older man hug him. Dexter's hugs were great and rarely given. Maybe that's why they were so good? The room was filled with breathing and the occasional sniffle. It was late and Rue's eyes began to flutter shut but he fought to keep them awake. He learned from experience that sleeping equals nightmares. And he really couldn't deal with them right now. He was content to sit with Dex but his welcoming warmth was so inviting. He vaguely noticed Vex picking him up and taking him to one of the beds that Skulduggery helped set up. Since the whole Sanctuary war thing had happened they needed a place to stay and Skulduggery let them stay with him on the premise that the pair didn't break anything or disturb him too much.   
His eyes snapped open as he grabbed Vex's wrist. His eyes filled with sadness. "Don't leave me" he whispered. His wet eyes searched Dexter's blue ones. 

"I'm only across the room" He replied stroking his thumb over Saracen's fingers that had a death grip on his wrist. 

"Please" Rue whispered brokenly. Giving in Dexter crawled in beside the ginger and immediately Saracen turned and gave him a sloppy drunken kiss. He proceeded to worry the skin around Vex's neck and jaw. 

"Rue, no. You're drunk" Dexter tried gently pushing Saracen away but it didn't work. Vex said his name again a little sharper this time and it brought Rue back to the present.

"Sorry I...I don't know why I did that" He bit the inside of his cheek.

"It's fine. Think nothing of it" He shrugged. They had kissed before and occasionally went further but Dex knew it wasn't right to do that now. Saracen was looking for comfort. For a distraction. A few minutes passed and Saracen broke the silence yet again.

"I don't want the nightmares to come back" He murmured into the darkness as he hugged Dex's middle tighter.

"I know, Rue. I know" The older man said softly, stroking his hair.

Time passed slowly. Saracen stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours and hours. The clock continued to tick softly. It was a nice tick. Not distracting or reminding of the fact that everything will come to an end one day. Everybody dies eventually. Even the wealthiest of people must meet their end like everybody else they thought they were better than. Comforting really. The ginger wondered how many years he has left on this planet. How many more people he has yet to meet, too fight, to fall in love with.

"Was he ever our friend?" He wondered out loud more to himself than anyone."What?" Dexter rolled over to look into Rue's brown eyes."Ravel. Was he ever our friend?" Rue's eyes fluttered shut briefly like he didn't want to tell the other man what was on his mind. Like it pained him to even mention the betrayers name.

"I believe he was... Up until a certain point" He shuck his head. "We mustn't think about him now. You need to sleep. We need our strength back, Saracen"

 "You're right as always, Vex"

"Of course" He replied with a smile


End file.
